'Road to the Roar' - Saturday Morning

Well, it would seem that there will be no repeat. In what can safely be called a shocker, Gushue won’t advance to the ‘Roar of the Rings’ in December, having lost Menard last night. Its really too bad, as I would have at least like to have seen him in Edmonton…he’s one of the Top 8 teams, so it’s a bit of a shame he won’t be there.

Anyways, yesterday saw Pat Simmons rebound from his ‘A’ Final loss on the ‘B’ side, defeating McEwen. On the women’s side, Kelly Scott made it 0-2 in the finals, losing to Ontario’s McCarville. She now drops down to the ‘C’ Side….I can only hope she makes it 0-3 today against Sherry Middaugh. Unlike Gushue, I’d be a very happy camper if Kelly Scott didn’t make it to Edmonton.

Aside from the Middaugh/Scott Final, today is the last chance for the other teams to get through. The other Women’s ‘C’ Final has Larouche v.Holland. The men’s sees the upstart Gunnlaughson v. McEwen, and Ursel v. the winner of Middaugh/Menard. Should be a good day of curling!

Tournament Bracket is here...

Read more...

2002 Olympic Quarter

Found this in my change today...the new quarter celebrating Canada's 2002 Gold Medal win.

I wonder what they'd break out if Canada wins in 2010?

Read more...

'Road to the Roar' - Thursday

Over the course of yesterday, the two ‘A’ Finals played themselves out, with Stoughton and Webster punching their tickets to Edmonton. Webster defeated Kelly Scott 9-7, off the strength of a 4 Point first end. It took Stoughton 11 to get past Pat Simmons, after a key steal of 1 in the 9th.

Men’s Side
So Stoughton is through, dropping Simmons into the ‘B’ Side, which will finish up today. Appleman/McEwen and Simmons/Middaugh make up the two semi-finals, with 1 berth on the line. I like whoever carries the Simmons/Middaugh Semi to take the Final tonight. Regardless, all three of the losers from this mini-bracket have one more chance left, as they will filter down to the ‘C’ Side after their losses.

Jeff Stoughton is moving on...

Speaking of the ‘C’ Side…that’s where 2006 Gold Medalist Brad Gushue finds himself after a disappointing loss to Appleman yesterday afternoon. With two strikes against him, he will need to roll off three straight wins in order to get to Edmonton. Another stumble, and there will be no repeat in Vancouver. The road through will not be easy for Gushue, as he faces Menard this morning then, pending a win, the loser of the aforementioned Simmons/Middaugh matchup.

It’s a bit disappointing that Gushue and Menard line up on the ‘C’ Side, with the loser going home. Both of these teams are solid enough to warrant inclusion in the ‘Roar of the Rings’, but only one…and maybe neither…will be there.

Women’s Side
The news of the day would probably still have to be Crystal Webster’s defeat of Kelly Scott in the ‘A’ Final. I suppose that its evidence that a hot team can do just about anything. Webster managed to win 4 in a row to get through to the ‘Roar of the Rings’, passing Holland, Middaugh, Homan and Kelly on the way.

Webster over Kelly for the 'A' Side

As a result of her loss, Kelly dropped onto the B-Side, but quickly rebounded with a semi-final win over Larouche last night. That sets up a ‘B’ Side final this afternoon between herself and Ontario’s Krista McCarville. After an opening round loss to Cathy King, McCarville has won three straight coming through the ‘B’ Side, so Kelly will again have to watch for a team on a roll.

The ‘C’ Side is populated by a number of teams down to their last chances. Rankin, Middaugh, Larouche, Homan, Anderson, King and Holland are all fighting for those two last births. By the end of today, 4 of those teams will be headed home.

Links
Official Event Site
Tournament Bracket

Read more...

'Road to the Roar' - Mid-Week Update

So the ‘Road to the Roar’ is approaching the halfway mark, and is ready to award its first ‘Roar of the Rings’ births today.

Women’s
The Women’s side has seen a fair number of upsets take place over the first two days, including both Larouche and Sherry Middaugh losing their quarter-final matchups. That has created an interesting B and C bracket, where some sides are somewhat ‘weak’, and others have top-seeds going head-to-head in an effort to stay alive. A good example is the bottom half of the B bracket, which had King, Englot, Larouche and Middaugh all fighting for one birth in the B Finals….and even that road leads through the A final loser.

Speaking of which, this afternoon’s A Final sees Kelly Scott go up against Crystal Webster. Kelly Scott is no surprise to be in the finals here, but the same can’t be said of Webster…a relative unknown. I’d obviously go with the favourite in this one, but Webster managed to get past Sherry Middaugh…so who knows. The winner moves onto Edmonton, with the loser dropping down to the B Side. They will play the winner of the Larouche/King matchup for a birth in the B Finals.

There have been two eliminations going into Thursday: Englot and Belise.

Men's
Things on the Men’s Side have gone a little bit more to form. The biggest surprise will be the presence of Pat Simmons in tonights A Final (v. Stoughton). Simmons is a better team than his #10 ranking may suggest, but he’s travelled a tough road, beating Menard, Middaugh and Gushue to get this far. For those keeping track, those defeated teams combine for 3 Briers, 2 World Championships and an Olympic Gold Medal.

I’d again pick Stoughton tonight, but I’d like to see Simmons get through as well. The loser will drop onto the B-Side and play the winner of the Middaugh/Ursel matchup.

There have been no eliminations on the Men’s side as of yet, but Gunnlaugson, Jordison, Burtynk and McAulay are all down to their final loss. These 4 teams will duke it out for one spot on the C1 Final…the rest will be going home!

Be sure to check out the tournament bracket, being updated here.

Read more...

'Road to the Roar' - Tournament Bracket

Alright, so I lied. I will be updating a tournament bracket. Hit the tabs at the bottom to switch between the Men's and the Women's.



Advancing Teams:
Men's A - Stoughton
Men's B - Simmons
Men's C1 - Gunnlaughson
Men's C2 - Middaugh

Women's A - Webster
Women's B - McCarville
Women's C1 - Scott
Women's C2 - Holland

Read more...

'Road to the Roar'

Starting this week is the ‘2010 Road to the Roar’ Olympic Curling Pre-Qualifier. Or, in layman’s terms, the tournament that will determine which 4 teams will round out the field at the Canadian Olympic Trials in December.

It’s certainly quite the approach that the CCA is using to determine our Men’s and Women’s Olympic Representatives. Trying to explain it all in detail would give me a headache, but the Coles Notes version sees:

• The Top 4 ranked teams proceed directly to the ‘Roar of the Rings’.
• The next 12 are placed in the ‘Road to the Roar’ event, a triple-knockout playdown.
• At the ‘Road to the Roar’ the Top 4 teams in THAT event (Ranked 5-8 overall) get a bye past the first round.
• They then meet the winners of the 5-12 games (or the 8 to 16 overall teams), proceeding through the triple-knockout bracket.
• From the ‘Road to the Roar’, 4 teams advance to join the previously qualified 4 teams at the ‘Roar of the Rings’.

Got all that? No? Don't blame you.....Cause its flippin’ retarded…don’t even get me started on how the teams were ranked in the first place.

Adding to the logistical nightmares, by the time this process plays itself out, the Curling teams will be the named a scant 2 months before the games begin. As of right now, that means you have 32 possible teams x 4 athletes each = 128 potential Olympians. Of that 128, 8 will go…for a rate of 6.25%.

All this was implemented ostensibly to ensure that the ‘best’ team from Canada is given the opportunity to represent us. However, if you look back at the historical winners (’98 Mike Harris, ’06 Gushue, ’06 Kleibrink), any team can win this on any given day. It’s really a crapshoot.

I guess the good news in this long drawn-out process is that at least there will be a tonne of meaningful curling on TV. For the ‘Road to the Roar’, TSN will have the following:

Thursday
3:30 EST – Women’s A Final
9:30 EST – Men’s A Final

Friday
4:00 EST – Women’s B Final
9:30 EST – Men’s B Final

Saturday
1:00 EST – Men’s/Women’s C1 Final
8:00 EST – Men’s/Women’s C2 Final

For those of you unfamiliar with the way knockout tournaments work, for each of those finals, the winner will qualify for the ‘Roar of the Rings’, with the loser either playing on, or being out in the case of the Saturday Finals.

Going in, the qualifiers on the Men’s side are:

‘Roar of the Rings’ Qualified:
Kevin Martin
Glenn Howard
Kevin Koe
Randy Ferbey

‘Road to the Roar’ Qualified:
Kerry Burtnyk
Pat Simmons
Jeff Stoughton
Wayne Middaugh
Brad Gushue
Mike McEwen
Joel Jordison
Bob Ursel
Jean-Michel Menard
Ted Appelman
Greg McAulay
Jason Gunnlaugson

If you asked me to make my call right now, I’d say my 4 picks to get out of the ‘Road’ are Gushue, Menard, Stoughton and Ursel. Overall, its probably down to Howard or Martin as the favorites to take the Maple Leaf into Vancouver.

I suppose I’m happy whoever it is, as long as they win gold….but through this whole process….I think my mantra will be ‘Anybody But Ferbey’. Can’t stand that guy….

On the women’s side:

‘Roar of the Rings’ Qualified:
Jennifer Jones
Shannon Kleibrink
Cheryl Bernard
Stefanie Lawton

‘Road to the Roar’ Qualified:
Kelly Scott
Sherry Anderson
Amber Holland
Sherry Middaugh
Marie-France Larouche
Michelle Englot
Heather Rankin
Krista McCarville
Cathy King
Eve Belisle
Crystal Webster

The women’s side is a bit tougher call in terms of who I think will get out…the field is much more wide open compared to the men’s. On the spot, I’d say Scott, Middaugh, King and McCarville move on. Overall, I’m hoping for Jennifer Jones, but any of the ‘Pre-Qualified’ teams I’m OK with. As on the Men’s Side…It's more about who I don't want there than who I do.....Here, I’m adopting the tagline ‘Anybody But Kelly Scott’…

Although I’ll be keeping up with this over the week, I’m not going to attempt to reproduce the tournament bracket. Consequently, I suggest you follow along at the following links:
Official Site
Wikipedia
Men's Bracket
Women's Bracket

Read more...

Phase III - Whoops!

So, Saturday was intended as the start of the Phase III Ticket period…..

We (Jen, Beth and I) were all set...Jen had swung over to the condo, we had two laptops all ready, multiple browsers...the whole she-bang. Of course, it was all for naught, as VANOC and Tickets.com screwed the whole thing up. According to the post-fiasco press release:

Tickets.com, the Official ticket service provider for Vancouver 2010, experienced difficulties with the configuration between the virtual waiting room and the ticketing transaction site.

In other words, they didn’t get the virtual waiting room up….so everyone went right to the site...crashing the whole thing. Not sure how many people tried to get on Saturday, but I know that when Phase II was opening up, the website was getting 1500 hits/second. That’s a whole lot of web traffic…..anyways, apparently about 300 tickets were sold via the call-centre, but they’re going to be replaced from the sponsor/media pool of tickets….so at least no tickets were stolen out from under us.

At one point, we were able to get into a broken down version of the site and at least see what was available. There should be some good tickets if we can get to them, I noticed that the USA-CAN Men’s Hockey Game, the Figure Skating Gala and the CAN-USA Curling were all available. I’m sure there are more ‘good’ events as well, that’s only what I remember.

Anyways, as a result of everything, Phase III has been pushed back to this upcoming Saturday, when we’ll give it another shot.

Read more...

Coal Harbour Olympic Rings

Just a quick follow up on the 100 Days post....a video of the Rings lighting....

Read more...

100 Days to Go!!

Onto the final stretch!

As of yesterday, there are a scant 100 days to go until the Games start. I’m trying to not really get too ‘into the mood’ until things get closer….100 days is still a long time to draw out anticipation. But it’s a big milestone, with a few notable unveilings that were attached to it….

Coal Harbour Olympic Rings

Yesterday VANOC floated out a second set of the large LED Olympic Rings into Coal Harbour. These rings are basically the twin of the set placed at Vancouver Airport about a year ago.

According to press, the location was chosen for a few different reasons including placing them against the skyline as a backdrop, their proximity to the media centre, and of course, by the need to ‘protect’ them from protesters. Pretty hard to access something in the middle of the harbour.

This second set of rings are supposedly going to feature in a light-show whenever Canada wins a medal.

Overall I like them, and their placement. We have to take a fair number of ferry trips across the harbour to get to the Whistler/Cypress transportation hub, so hopefully we’ll be able to see them somewhat up close.

NBCOlympics.com

Also yesterday, NBCOlympic.com got a large overhaul. I don’t like it quite as much as the VANOC web overhaul, or still as much as CTVOlympics.ca, but its still pretty good.

Biggest Con is the regional restrictions on viewing videos (ongoing pet peeve). Biggest Pro is the mobile alerts and widgets offered. I really hope that closer to the games CTV, VANOC or anyone ‘Canadian’ will offer up similar features.

Read more...

USA Team Uniforms

The USA has apparently unveiled their uniforms for the Games. I gotta say that I'm 100% not a fan....looks like they've just come in off the yacht for tea......

Ugggg...

Oh....I just found a full-body shot.....the white pants and boots? BRUTAL...

At least the medal ceremony jackets (left) aren't horrible.....but wow....just wow on those Opening Ceremony uniforms (centre)

Read more...

Men's Hockey Roster Announcement Dates

Little ways off still, but here is the dates that each Nation will be announcing their Men’s Hockey Rosters. In chronological order:

Belarus: December 23
Russia: December 25
Sweden: December 27
Latvia: December 29
Norway: December 29
Slovakia: December 29
Czech Republic: December 30
Finland: December 30
Germany: December 30
Switzerland: December 30
Canada: December 31 December 30
USA: January 1

The Canadian announcement will be integrated with the WJC Tourney in Saskatchewan no doubt, and the USA announcement will be part of the NHL Winter Classic.

Read more...

Beth and Jen - More Flights, More Trains, More Hotels

So….I remember a magical time……one of unicorns and lollipops and cotton candy clouds….a land where I had already sorted out all the flights and hotels and transportation and tickets for this trip……oh, it was ever so grand…

Well the dream died last night…. Thanks a lot Jen and Beth! Jerks….the both of you….

With Jen having officially gotten the time off work, it was time to start booking things for her and Beth!

In order to keep things cost efficient, Jen and Beth are going to be doing the ‘roundabout’ Buffalo-->Seattlle-->Vancouver route. It certainly takes longer than flying direct from Toronto to Vancouver, but it’s also a whole heck of a lot less expensive.

Anyways, here are the details….

Coming In
Saturday, February 20th
Fly from Buffalo to Seattle, via Chicago
Depart 4:05 PM, Arrive 9:48
Spend the night in Seattle

Sunday, Feburary 21st
Take the train from Seattle to Vancouver
Depart 7:40 AM, Arrive 11:40 AM

Going Home
Sunday, February 28th
Take the train from Vancouver to Seattle
Depart 7:45 PM, Arrive 12:10 AM

Monday, March 1st
Fly from Seattle to Buffalo, via Philidelphia
Depart 8:45 AM, Arrive 9:43 PM

All told, we were able to get them there and back for about $450…which is a little less than half of what Pam and I are paying to fly direct….so there are significant savings. We still have more details to work out, like 100% if they are going to stay at the YWCA, a hotel for Seattle, and more tickets….but all in good time….

Read more...

Figure Skating - Canadian Men

Patrick Chan!! That's right, you know him from the McDonald's commercial (or the CTV Believe commercial... or the Cheerio's commercial). First off, this dude is WAYYYY too hyped up. I mean, he's good and all, but not THIS good.

Patrick is the 2 time National Men's champion and he's only 17! This is way too much pressure for a 17 year old! I think he'll crack. He's currently ranked 2nd in the world which is all good and great, I just think he's too young for this to be his Olympics. I think he'll be much better and more prepared for the 2014 Olympics. Then again, I only claim to be an expert :)

So here's his facts:
Patrick skates out of Toronto at the Granite Club, he won his first Canadian Championship in 2008 at the age of 17, Chan had become the youngest Canadian men's champion in history. in the 2008 - 2009 season, he has finished first at the Canadian Championships, the Four Continents Championships, Trophee Eric Bompard and Skate Canada International. He finished second at the World Championships and 5th at the Grand Prix Final.

If you're curious about the "hype", here are some links to commercials:

CTV:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhsEkiqypxM

McDonald’s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER3r2D06ork&NR=1

Cheerio’s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw-xpEO3ArQ&NR=1

And here's his short program from the 2009 Canadian Championships:



So not to be a total downer, but in other videos I have posted on this blog of Davison & Dube and Joannie Rochette, they have not fallen in competition. (Okay, except for that skate to Dube's face thing). I'm just saying, I really don't think Chan will do as well at the Olympics as everyone seems to think he will. I'm sorry Canada, please don't be mad at me.

Read more...

New Layout

So in talking to Beth, she complained about an issue that had been bothering me for a bit as well...the layout of the righthand widgets. In particular the blog archives weren’t really placed prominently enough…I wouldn’t want people to only scroll past the first two or three posts, not realizing that this has been going on for almost a year now.

Anyways, while I was considering just playing around with the existing template, I managed to come across one that I like even better. It’s a whole lot cleaner, a lot easier to edit, and allows for two columns on the sidebar. Pretty sweet….

The header bar still needs a bit of work and the videos will need to be re-embedded, but I have a lot more room for widgets now, and things are much easier to organize. I think this is a really nice upgrade to the site.

Read more...

Welcome Aboard!

It’s been in the works for a little while now, as you can see from Beth’s posts….but I’d like to give an ‘official’ welcome to Beth and Jen on our little trip!

They’ll be coming out starting the 21st, and staying through the end of the games more or less. Tickets and flights are still to be sorted out, as is really lodging…but we’ll find a way…

I’m also glad to actually have other posters on the blog as well…makes my nerdiness somewhat less apparent when I’m not the only one…

Read more...

Torch Relay Banners

Just as I was writing that last entry, my mother forwarded me a link from the City of Brantford. Apparently, they are selling off the banners that they will use to decorate streetlights during the Torch Relay.

You are able to choose from one of five designs, seen here:

A small banner (12" x 30") runs the heafty price tag of $125....so I don't know if I'll get one, but it would certainly make a nice addition to the wall display that I want to do with this is all said and done. I think that if I did get one, I'd want either 'B' or 'D'.

As an 'added bonus', the news release states that banner would be signed by the final torch bearer in Brantford. Is it possible that said person would be either Wayne or Walter Gretzky?

Read more...

Torch Handover

Just a few hours from now, the Olympic Torch will complete the Greek leg of the tour, and will be handed over to Canadians for the flight home.

From the Official Site:

The Handover Ceremony takes place on October 29, when the sacred flame is transferred to representatives of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games during a traditional ceremony at the Panathenian Stadium in Athens, Greece. Three British Columbia mayors — Lake Cowichan Mayor Ross Forrest, Port Alberni Mayor Ken McRae and Queen Charlotte Mayor Carol Kulesha — will also be present at the ceremony and, along with the Vancouver 2010 delegation, will bring the sacred flame back to Canada.

A Greek-Canadian figure skater from Ontario, Niki Georgiadis will be the final torchbearer during the Handover Ceremony before the Olympic Flame travels to Canada.

The original Panathenian Stadium was formed from a natural hollow in the ground between two hills in Athens — Agra and Ardettos — and was transformed into a stadium in 330–329 BC, where athletic competitions of the Great Panathenaea Festivities were held. Over the centuries, the stadium went through several restorations and in 1896 it played host to the first modern Olympic Games.

The Handover Ceremony marks not only the real beginning of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and the countdown to the Games, but it also offers a unique and unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience for 12,000 torchbearers and more than 1,030 communities in Canada. All can live the flame’s journey and be a part of the Olympic Movement in their own country.

Let the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay begin!

The handover ceremony can be seen here at Noon ET.

The torch touches down in Victoria tomorrow, with CTVOlympics.ca reporting as many as 50,000 people may show up....

Read more...

Figure Skating - Canadian Women

In today's edition, we're going to talk about Joannie Rochette. It's very refreshing to finally be able to talk about a decent female figure skating competitor! Seriously, Canadian women have struggled with consistency for the past 20 years!! (that's really pathetic!) But let's take a minute to look back at the past World Championship results to see the top Canadian women placed, shall we?:

2009: 2nd - Joannie Rochette
2008: 5th - Joannie Rochette
2007: 10th - Joannie Rochette
2006: 7th - Joannie Rochette
2005: 11th - Joannie Rochette
2004: 8th - Joannie Rochette
2003: 9th - Jennifer Robinson
2002: 9th - Jennifer Robinson
2001: 15th - Jennifer Robinson
2000: 8th - Jennifer Robinson
1999: 18th - Jennifer Robinson
1998....
Look, the gist here is that we ladies don't do so well under pressure. In fact, I had to stop my little chart here because I would have had to go all the way back to 1988 when Elizabeth Manley won a silver. (Same year she also won silver at the Calgary Olympics.)

Here are some Joannie Rochette facts:
She's our FIVE TIME national champion, she's currently ranked 2nd in the world. She will be 24 by the time Vancouver 2010 rolls around and she placed 5th in Turino 2006.

Now, here are some examples of her amazing talent.

This is her long program from the 2005 Canadians, if you're bad at math, it's the first time she won the Canadians. (Don't worry, I'm bad at math too!)



Okay, so incase you aren't a figure skating judge, let me tell you what you just watched:
Triple toe, triple toe combination
Triple lutz
Triple loop
Double axle
Camel spin
Triple lutz, double toe combination
Triple flip, triple salchow combination
Camel, sit, layback, back sit, Y-spin combination
Layback spin
Spiral sequence
Footwork sequence
Double axle
Footwork sequence
Flying camel spin

Next we have her long program from the 2009 Canadians.



And here's what you saw there:
Triple loop, double toe, double loop combination
Triple flip
Triple loop
Flying cannonball sit, sit variation combination
Y-spin, attitude spin combination
Triple lutz
Triple toe, triple salchow combination
Footwork sequence
Spiral sequence
Double axle, double axle combination
Triple salchow
Back-inside camel, Y-spin, forward sit, cannonball spin combination

So there you have it, and I'm going to stop blogging now because I'm sick of typing the word "combination" :)

Read more...

Seat Assignment!

So the day has finally arrived…..our seats have been assigned! The presentation below gives an overview of where all our tickets have landed.



The presentation includes the tickets we picked up for Holly/Kingston, and we're still waiting on the ticket placements for the ones we got from 'other' sources (Stubhub, Ms. Kauk)

The biggest thing we’ve noticed is how much our ‘A’ level tickets have been pushed to the end of the rink. Almost without fail, these are either right behind the net, or at best, in the corner. I suppose it was to be expected, sponsors and media getting all the ‘prime’ seats, but it’s still a little annoying that the best seats didn’t seem to make it to the public.

Now that we have our assigned places, we can better establish which tickets we’re going to sell for events where we have the choice. I think in general we’re going to sell the better seats, and keep the crappier ones. For example, for the USA-NOR and USA-SWI games, we’ll sell the lower bowl tickets behind the net, and sit in the upper bowl in the corner. Although we’re giving up the better seats, we’re also gonna be able to sell them for more.

I think overall, our ‘best’ assignment was for the Long Track Team Pursuit Finals at the Richmond Olympic Oval, where Pam and I have the 4th row, in between turns 1 and 2. However, since there is an aisle near our seats, that’s actually the 2nd row. Should be right on top of the action!

Updated as tickets change...

Read more...

Figure Skating - Canadian Pairs

As we all know, Scott is the hockey and curling guru. What you may not know, is that I spent 15 years of my life on a rink as well, figure skating. I stopped skating at age 18 when I had to choose between dedicating myself entirely to it in the hopes of doing the nationals circuit, or going to college. Being the responsible gal I am, I went to college. Not a day goes by that I don't wonder "what could have been" if I had chosen otherwise.

That aside, I do have some figure skating wisdom to pass on to the blogging world. Nothing has been finalized yet as far as who will be representing Canada until after Canadians 2010 in January, but I'm going to get on my high horse and assume I'm right. That being said, let's talk pairs. Let's talk about medal contention. Let's talk about Bryce Davison and Jessica Dube. First, I would like to say that growing up just outside of Hamilton, I did have the honour of skating a few times on the same ice surface as Bryce. I always remembered everyone making a big deal about him even back then.

Here are the facts:
Bryce and Jessica are the 2007 & 2009 Canadian National champions. (in 2008 they were 2nd to Langlois and Hay, they withdrew in 2009 due to injury. They will probably be going to Vancouver as well). She is 21, he is 23. They are coached by David Pelletier (yes, the guy from the 2002 Olympic figure skating scandal) and they are only getting better and better.

They went to Turino and placed 10th but that's pretty amazing when you think about the fact that he was only 19 and she was 18! They have spent the last 4 years preparing for this, and I think this is their time.

Last week they competed in the Trophee Eric Bompard competition (part of the ISU Grand Prix of figure skating series) and they came in 2nd behind Mukhortpva and Trankov of Russia. This is their performance:



They are a remarkably graceful pair. (or maybe I've just been watching "Battle of the Blades" too much!) So here's to crossing our fingers and hoping nothing but the best for them!

Oh, and just because I'm morbid, I'm posting this short clip of an accident Dube and Davison had in 2007. I warn you, it's brutal. She had to get 80 stitches to the face. Enjoy!

Read more...